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Amarone from Valpolicella: The Magic of the Dried Grape!
The term Recioto comes from the word "recia" in local dialect. This precious wine comes from the smallest and rarest bunches, called the "recie", as well as from the outer branches of bunches best exposed to sunlight and air, so consequently more mature and with a higher sugar content.
Recioto, due to an admirable natural balance, is a wine with a natural residual sugar content. Amarone, which exists thanks to Recioto, is totally dry thanks to a biological miracle. All its wealth of fermentable sugars is transformed into alcohol (alcohol content can reach 16% by volume).
The varieties of grapes selected over time are: Corvina (30-35%), Corvinone (30%), Rondinella (25-30%), and also, Molinara, Rossignola, Dindarella and Negrara (about 10%).
The position of the vineyards, with their different heat and light conditions have been shown to favour certain vines: to the East the best Recioto is obtained, with Amarone prefering the Western slopes.
The wine-harvest
Grapes for Recioto and Amarone are normally harvested towards the end of September/beginning of October. Specialized and trusted workers are appointed for this task: the quality comes from the grape itself and from its careful selection in the harvest. The most exposed, mature healthy and small bunches are chosen. They must be handled with the greatest of care so as not to bruise them as this would shorten the mellowing process; so they are held by the stalk and placed with considerable delicacy into the crates. Key factors for a good product in the first phase are the aspect of the vineyards, the ability of grape-growers who do the appropriate tasks at the right times, proper and well-balanced fertilization and rain at the right time.
The grapes-drying
The unusual method of harvesting the grapes starts the second phase of winemaking, just as important as the growing: shrivelling (raisining) of the vine. In this phase is also fundamental to have suitable premises available for a successful dry maturation, fresh, ventilated and with the absence of mists and damp in general.
The grapes, once gathered, are taken to a temperature and humidity- controlled store. Systematically, for the duration of this phase, the bunches are graded every 15-20 days in order to eliminate the grapes which have gone mouldy or spoiled: it is a very expensive operation, but necessary. A good mellowing brings about the shrinkage of about 35-40% of the original weight. In the best vintages, a noble mould appears: a touch of class and a sign of quality for the future product.
Drying of the grapes for a prolonged period results in a concentration of sugar content and extracts without a strong increase in acidity. It modifies the characteristics particularly characterized by a high production of glycerine. This is a positive sign. However, the different varieties show markedly different reactions to the mellowing process: in particular, Rondinella showed, during testing, a great resistance throughout the mellowing period, and it is to this variety that the colour contribution to wines is due.
Corvina, having a very thick and robust skin, gives the wine its body, high quality and aromas. Molinara gives wine vivacity, salinity and great bouquet.
The other grapes, which are used in small quantities, are a complement to the other and enrich the body, the flavours and the perfume of the wine.
These two periods are of such considerable importance and complementary to each other that the same vintage can be excellent for Valpolicella (indicating a good vegetative period) and mediocre for Recioto (bad mellowing) or vice-versa. When these two periods obtain their best conditions, a truly great vintage is possible.
The pressing and the alcoholic fermentation
The pressing takes place during the period which should coincide with the coldest months of the year: generally in January. A roller wine press is used to ensure a gentle crushing which largely leaves the stalks intact, which have become woody over time.
The first phase of fermentation is in tall and narrow steel tanks for Recioto and standard for Amarone. Experience has taught us that in the vertical position, internal circulation is a more difficult and therefore results in a slower and more controlled fermentation. The duration of this phase is approximately one month for Recioto and 45-50 days for Amarone. The wine obtained in the first decanting is similar to a meaty liquid, almost opaque, vivid in colour, highly perfumed and still quite sweet. Output is about 20-25 liters for every 100 kilograms of fresh grapes: in practice, from five hundred weight of grapes one obtains about one hundred weight of Recioto or Amarone.
The way to obtain a dry wine like Amarone with a 15-16 degree alcohol content, is by an exclusive biological miracle of indigenous naturally selected yeasts and their survival in alcohol. The end of alcoholic fermentation takes place in wooden barrels during maturation.
The ageing in wood
Recioto wine matures for roughly two years in Slovenian oak barrels. Amarone wines mature in either Allier oak barriques or in larger Slovenian oak casks, holding up to 3/5,000 litres, depending on the type of Amarone. This ageing phase takes place in deep and very cool cellars. The phase is relatively short for sweet Recioto and much longer for Amarone that must evolve and develop all its potential of esters, bouquet, flavours and structure to express its sumptuous depth. Furthermore, resting on the clean yeast lees during this period ensures that the Amarone will have a complex structure and a bouquet that is simultaneously fresh and complex. The maturation is a slow oxidization process that takes place between the slats in the barrels: oxygen enters and is progressively consumed by the phenolic compounds in the wine and the tannins in the wood. The oxygen’s disappearance is followed by the ethyl alcohol in the wine transforming into acetaldehyde, forming the foundation for the tannins to bind together with anthocyanins. These compounds are responsible for the stability of the colour of the two wines over the years and the gradual decrease in the astringency of the tannins. The wood of the barrels contributes polysaccharides, heightening the “fatty” mouthfeel of the wine.
Finally, during this maturation, the wine is enriched with new aromatic substances originating from the wood: this explains how wines obtain distinctly vanilla, boisée (oak), cloves, and coconut aromas. It is important that these blend with the variety’s aromatic substances and fermentation, thus obtaining a complex and harmonious final bouquet.
Bottling and bottle refining
At the end of the oak barrel maturation and after the blending phase, the wine is bottled. Afterwards, bottle ageing follows, which lasts an average of 6 months.
This is an important phase for the wine for the following reasons:
- how the wine adapts to the new restricted environment
- how the sensory characteristics assumed and/or modified during the barrel ageing are expressed.
Recioto and Amarone: two precious wines.
The former quite sweet, the latter dry, are products without the addition of artifices and without traumatically physical and chemical interference. They have a splendid matrix in common, in the soil of Valpolicella, and are two marvels in the area of Venetian culture.
How to drink them? In a wine-tasting glass for great red wines.
Swirl it about so as to admire its beautiful colour and its fascinating reflections. Bring the edge of the goblet to your nose and smell the effusion of its aromas. Take a good sip, hold it still in you mouth for a few seconds and then swirl it all around your mouth and slowly swallow: this is Paradise!
Heaven, in this instance, is achieved only if authentic, typical, traditional Recioto is drunk.
In order to find it, do not accept the D.O.C. guarantee contained in the label, but look for it in the names to the Companies, which instil trust.
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